Harry Potter Throughout the Years
by gmoney480
Summary: I really appreciate how the title screens in the Harry Potter movies reflect the tone of the series and here's why.


So I don't write much but last night I had the urge to start writing once I saw an assortment of the title gifs on tumblr. Hope you enjoy!

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I really like how the title screen part in the Harry Potter movies reflect the tone of the series.

Like the first two were just like YAY Harry is OPTIMISTIC and HAPPY because there is MAGIC and Harry is away from the Dursley's and friends and MAGIC and so there's some bright yellow in there for the first year. Harry still has the innocence and wonder that comes from childhood. He knows some evils of the world, but he doesn't really let it get to him. He's able to shrug it right off. Children are resilient if nothing else.

Then in the second year there's still the bright yellow, because maybe first year was just a fluke and these year won't be so dangerous for Harry but _oh, wait, jk, _now there's a freakin giant ass snake after him. Once is an anomaly, twice is a coincidence, but three times is a pattern.

And then you get to year 3. This time the opening sequence there are no colors, although the clouds are still bright. Harry still has hope, even though he learns there is a mass murderer after him, which turns out to be his godfather who was wrongfully imprisoned and so there is still a mass murderer after him AND after tasting freedom he still has to go back to the Dursleys, and his absolute happiest memory is the thought of never going back there.

And then year 4. There aren't even any clouds; the only light comes from the words projected on the screen. Otherwise, the night sky is pitch black, with nothing other than Harry to illuminate it. Darkness tries to smother Harry but he still shines brightly, still has hope for this year and has his own light to guide him. Let someone else have all the glory and fame this year. For two short glorious months nothing happens and he is just another student trying to learn and have fun with his friends. And then the Goblet spits out Harry's name and once again Harry is fighting for his life. The school abandons him and worse, so does Ron. It's not great, he has to fight _DRAGONS _of all things but hey, better dragons than Voldemort or dementors. Dragons at least he can prepare for, but he's definitely dealt with worse. And then he gets Ron back but loses someone else in an extremely brutal way. Cedric.

At 15 years old he has to deal with survivors guilt and most likely intense cases of PTSD and depression, and then he gets sent home for the summer completely alone (his relatives don't count, they make things _worse_). Sometimes people who are depressed feel alone, and in Harry's case he WAS alone, he couldn't even talk to his friends because they thought that Dumbledore's orders were more important to them than Harry's well-being.

This is the final loss of innocence and naivety. It really started when he was placed with the Dursleys and gained speed in year 3 but it is in this one that really shatters him. It really hits home that magic doesn't solve everything, sometimes it makes things better but it also makes things worse. The new world he entered isn't any better (or worse) than the one he left behind. Magic is an insentient tool that is only influenced by its wielders, and even if the laws of physics have been redefined human nature hasn't.

Then comes year five. There aren't any clouds, the sky is as dark as Sirius' family name. Not even the trademark peel of lightning entwined with the franchise illuminates the sky. The words 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix are only legible because they are silver on a black background. It is Harry's darkest time. He's a 15 year old boy and is being called a liar and a deranged psychopath for claiming Voldemort is back. Even with all of these accusations, none of his persecutors are even bothering to ask who killed Cedric, which is just so galling to Harry because Cedric's death _meant_ something. Worse, Harry's greatest fear, the dementors (his mother's pleading screams for help that he can't answer, can never answer) attack him and he is put on trial for bothering to try and save his soul because no one elsehas _ever _saved him (although Sirius at least has tried).

And then he goes to school, the place that he is supposed to be, well, it's never been safe for Harry but at least he's _happy_ there, and there's Umbridge. Don't get me started on Umbridge. Umbridge, who would kick someone out of there home with a smile if someone hadn't stopped her. Umbridge, who sees no problem in carving words into a child's very _skin_ because she thinks why not. Umridge, who sends _soul sucking DEMONs _after a 15 year old because he's creating a few 'inconveniences' at her job, and since he's a 15 year old muggle raise half-blood she probably assumes he has no idea of what a Patronus _is_, let alone cast one.

Sometimes I think that Umbridge is a worse villain than Voldemort because at least Voldemort is forthright about his agenda, he kills and tortures people. That's what he does and he admits to it. Umbridge pretends to be your friend but carves her agenda into your very skin. Voldemort made me do it was a valid excuse in the second war but _Umbridge did this to me_ was completely ignored. Voldemort ends lives, but Umbridge completely _ruins_ them.

The centaurs had the right idea when they bound her in chains. The only mistake they made was letting her go.

And then Sirius dies. Sirius wasn't perfect, far from it, he was a man recovering from more than a decade of mental abuse and survivor's guilt but he was the only adult that wanted to take care of Harry and loved him. With Sirius gone Harry's hope for a happy childhood also disappeared.

So there's year 6. It's still dark, so very dark but at least now the clouds are at least slightly visible and have a silver lining. Blue is a color often associated with sadness, depression, and even Harry's very name reflects the sorry he feels. The situation with Voldemort may be worsening but at the same time Harry's Hogwarts experience is getting better. He's no longer thought of as a raving lunatic, Umbridge is gone, and Dumbledore is finally telling him everything. While it's lighter, it's only a sliver. Sirius is dead, Dumbledore soon follows, and after 6 year while Harry's home is still there Hogwarts as he knows it is _gone._

The first half of the Deathly Hallows is next. The name is back to silver and so many years have passed but lightning strikes once again. Lightening is silent, swift, and above all else _destructive_. This year Harry is definitely on the offensive. Things are a mess. Dumbledore is gone, Snape's a traitor but at least Harry is finally _doing _something rather than waiting around all year for something to happen. He's controlling his own destiny and is being proactive rather than reactive. But it's not all fun in games, it may be lighter but it's still dark. Luna's captured, Ron leaves, and Dobby dies. But Ron comes back and Horcruxes are destroyed and they get Luna back (they also have to face a bloody dragon _again_. Seriously, they should have taken Charlie with them).

The last sequence rolls through. 8 movies and many years later, this is the last time we will ever see the words 'Harry Potter' scroll through the beginning sequence of a movie. It's brighter than it has been in a _long _time. While the bright colors from Harry's childhood are still gone (and may always be gone, you can't easily replicate the innocence and ignorance of childhood) and the sky is still dark, but not as much as before. It's more purple than black, signifying the change of time. The clouds are moving, as if the Sun will soon break free. Voldemort is gone, although some of his followers still live. Harry's a little bit bent but not broken, lightening still flashes through the night sky and he lives to fight another day.

The clouds are leaving, the day is breaking. It's a new day, and Harry is going to make the best of it.


End file.
